NASA bumps astronaut off June spaceflight in rare move

Friday, Dean confirmed that Epps had returned to the active astronaut corps and would still be considered for future missions.

NASA announced some changes to the space station missions and the flight assignments for 2018 on Thursday.

Dr Epps was to have been the main African-American astronaut appointed to the space station group.

NASA has bumped an astronaut off an upcoming spaceflight, a rare move for the space agency so close to launch.

"A number of factors are considered when making flight assignments; these decisions are personnel matters, for which NASA doesn't provide information", United States space agency spokeswoman Brandi Dean said in an email to AFP on Friday. Both were chosen as astronauts in 2009. NASA assigned her to the flight a year ago.

Epps was to have launched to the ISS from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, alongside astronaut Alexander Gerst from the German European Space Agency (Esa) and the flight's commander, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopev on Expedition 56/57.

"Before being selected as an astronaut, she spent more than nine months in Russian Federation supporting medical operations for space station crew members, including water survival training in the Ukraine, and served as the deputy lead for medical operations for NASA's Orion spacecraft".

She's been replaced by her backup, Serena Aunon-Chancellor, a doctor.

The space agency's announcement stopped short of explaining why Epps was removed in the first place. Since completing her training she's worked on various NASA operations and further training while awaiting mission assignment.

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